Institut für Biochemie und Biologie
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Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), especially long-chain (i.e., >= 20 carbons) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), are fundamental to the health and survival of marine and terrestrial organisms. Therefore, it is imperative that we gain a better understanding of their origin, abundance, and transfer between and within these ecosystems. We evaluated the natural variation in PUFA distribution and abundance that exists between and within these ecosystems by amassing and analyzing, using multivariate and analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods, >3000 fatty acid (FA) profiles from marine and terrestrial organisms. There was a clear dichotomy in LC-PUFA abundance between organisms in marine and terrestrial ecosystems, mainly driven by the C-18 PUFA in terrestrial organisms and omega-3 (n-3) LC-PUFA in marine organisms. The PUFA content of an organism depended on both its biome (marine vs terrestrial) and taxonomic group. Within the marine biome, the PUFA content varied among taxonomic groups. PUFA content of marine organisms was dependent on both geographic zone (i.e., latitude, and thus broadly related to temperature) and trophic level (a function of diet). The contents of n-3 LC-PUFA were higher in polar and temperate marine organisms than those from the tropics. Therefore, we conclude that, on a per capita basis, high latitude marine organisms provide a disproportionately large global share of these essential nutrients to consumers, including terrestrial predators. Our analysis also hints at how climate change, and other anthropogenic stressors, might act to negatively impact the global distribution and abundance of n-3 LC-PUFA within marine ecosystems and on the terrestrial consumers that depend on these subsidies.
The need to develop sustainable resource management strategies for semi-arid and arid rangelands is acute as non-adapted grazing strategies lead to irreversible environmental problems such as desertification and associated loss of economic support to society. In such vulnerable ecosystems, successful implementation of sustainable management strategies depends on well-founded under-standing of processes at different scales that underlay the complex system dynamic. There is ample evidence that, in contrast to traditional sectoral approaches, only interdisciplinary research does work for resolving problems in conservation and natural resource management. In this thesis I combined a range of modeling approaches that integrate different disciplines and spatial scales in order to contribute to basic guidelines for sustainable management of semi-arid and arid range-lands. Since water availability and livestock management are seen as most potent determinants for the dynamics of semi-arid and arid ecosystems I focused on (i) the interaction of ecological and hydro-logical processes and (ii) the effect of farming strategies. First, I developed a grid-based and small-scaled model simulating vegetation dynamics and inter-linked hydrological processes. The simulation results suggest that ecohydrological interactions gain importance in rangelands with ascending slope where vegetation cover serves to obstruct run-off and decreases evaporation from the soil. Disturbances like overgrazing influence these positive feedback mechanisms by affecting vegetation cover and composition. In the second part, I present a modeling approach that has the power to transfer and integrate ecological information from the small scale vegetation model to the landscape scale, most relevant for the conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of natural resources. I combined techniques of stochastic modeling with remotely sensed data and GIS to investigate to which ex-tent spatial interactions, like the movement of surface water by run-off in water limited environments, affect ecosystem functioning at the landscape scale. My simulation experiments show that overgrazing decreases the number of vegetation patches that act as hydrological sinks and run-off increases. The results of both simulation models implicate that different vegetation types should not only be regarded as provider of forage production but also as regulator of ecosystem functioning. Vegetation patches with good cover of perennial vegetation are capable to catch and conserve surface run-off from degraded surrounding areas. Therefore, downstream out of the simulated system is prevented and efficient use of water resources is guaranteed at all times. This consequence also applies to commercial rotational grazing strategies for semi-arid and arid rangelands with ascending slope where non-degraded paddocks act as hydrological sinks. Finally, by the help of an integrated ecological-economic modeling approach, I analyzed the relevance of farmers’ ecological knowledge for longterm functioning of semi-arid and arid grazing systems under current and future climatic conditions. The modeling approach consists of an ecological and an economic module and combines relevant processes on either level. Again, vegetation dynamics and forage productivity is derived by the small-scaled vegetation model. I showed that sustainable management of semi-arid and arid rangelands relies strongly on the farmers’ knowledge on how the ecosystem works. Furthermore, my simulation results indicate that the projected lower annual rainfall due to climate change in combination with non-adapted grazing strategies adds an additional layer of risk to these ecosystems that are already prone to land degradation. All simulation models focus on the most essential factors and ignore specific details. Therefore, even though all simulation models are parameterized for a specific dwarf shrub savanna in arid southern Namibia, the conclusions drawn are applicable for semi-arid and arid rangelands in general.
Climate change of anthropogenic origin is affecting Earth’s biodiversity and therefore ecosystems and their services. High latitude ecosystems are even more impacted than the rest of Northern Hemisphere because of the amplified polar warming. Still, it is challenging to predict the dynamics of high latitude ecosystems because of complex interaction between abiotic and biotic components. As the past is the key to the future, the interpretation of past ecological changes to better understand ongoing processes is possible. In the Quaternary, the Pleistocene experienced several glacial and interglacial stages that affected past ecosystems. During the last Glacial, the Pleistocene steppe-tundra was covering most of unglaciated northern hemisphere and disappeared in parallel to the megafauna’s extinction at the transition to the Holocene (~11,700 years ago). The origin of the steppe-tundra decline is not well understood and knowledge on the mechanisms, which caused shifts in past communities and ecosystems, is of high priority as they are likely comparable to those affecting modern ecosystems. Lake or permafrost core sediments can be retrieved to investigate past biodiversity at transitions between glacial and interglacial stages. Siberia and Beringia were the origin of dispersal of the steppe-tundra, which make investigation this area of high priority. Until recently, macrofossils and pollen were the most common approaches. They are designed to reconstruct past composition changes but have limit and biases. Since the end of the 20th century, sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) can also be investigated. My main objectives were, by using sedaDNA approaches to provide scientific evidence of compositional and diversity changes in the Northern Hemisphere ecosystems at the transition between Quaternary glacial and interglacial stages.
In this thesis, I provide snapshots of entire ancient ecosystems and describe compositional changes between Quaternary glacial and interglacial stages, and confirm the vegetation composition and the spatial and temporal boundaries of the Pleistocene steppe-tundra. I identify a general loss of plant diversity with extinction events happening in parallel of megafauna’ extinction. I demonstrate how loss of biotic resilience led to the collapse of a previously well-established system and discuss my results in regards to the ongoing climate change. With further work to constrain biases and limits, sedaDNA can be used in parallel or even replace the more established macrofossils and pollen approaches as my results support the robustness and potential of sedaDNA to answer new palaeoecological questions such as plant diversity changes, loss and provide snapshots of entire ancient biota.
Cellulose delta O-18 is an index of leaf-to-air vapor pressure difference (VPD) in tropical plants
(2011)
Cellulose in plants contains oxygen that derives in most cases from precipitation. Because the stable oxygen isotope composition, delta O-18, of precipitation is associated with environmental conditions, cellulose delta O-18 should be as well. However, plant physiological models using delta O-18 suggest that cellulose delta O-18 is influenced by a complex mix of both climatic and physiological drivers. This influence complicates the interpretation of cellulose delta O-18 values in a paleo-context. Here, we combined empirical data analyses with mechanistic model simulations to i) quantify the impacts that the primary climatic drivers humidity (e(a)) and air temperature (T-air) have on cellulose delta O-18 values in different tropical ecosystems and ii) determine which environmental signal is dominating cellulose delta O-18 values. Our results revealed that e(a) and T-air equally influence cellulose delta O-18 values and that distinguishing which of these factors dominates the delta O-18 values of cellulose cannot be accomplished in the absence of additional environmental information. However, the individual impacts of e(a) and T-air on the delta O-18 values of cellulose can be integrated into a single index of plant-experienced atmospheric vapor demand: the leaf-to-air vapor pressure difference (VPD). We found a robust relationship between VPD and cellulose delta O-18 values in both empirical and modeled data in all ecosystems that we investigated. Our analysis revealed therefore that delta O-18 values in plant cellulose can be used as a proxy for VPD in tropical ecosystems. As VPD is an essential variable that determines the biogeochemical dynamics of ecosystems, our study has applications in ecological-, climate-, or forensic-sciences.
Conservation actions need to account for and be adapted to address changes that will occur under global climate change. The identification of stresses on biological diversity (as defined in the Convention on Biological Diversity) is key in the process of adaptive conservation management. We considered any impact of climate change on biological diversity a stress because such an effect represents a change (negative or positive) in key ecological attributes of an ecosystem or parts of it. We applied a systemic approach and a hierarchical framework in a comprehensive classification of stresses to biological diversity that are caused directly by global climate change. Through analyses of 20 conservation sites in 7 countries and a review of the literature, we identified climate-change-induced stresses. We grouped the identified stresses according to 3 levels of biological diversity: stresses that affect individuals and populations, stresses that affect biological communities, and stresses that affect ecosystem structure and function. For each stress category, we differentiated 3 hierarchical levels of stress: stress class (thematic grouping with the coarsest resolution, 8); general stresses (thematic groups of specific stresses, 21); and specific stresses (most detailed definition of stresses, 90). We also compiled an overview of effects of climate change on ecosystem services using the categories of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and 2 additional categories. Our classification may be used to identify key climate-change-related stresses to biological diversity and may assist in the development of appropriate conservation strategies. The classification is in list format, but it accounts for relations among climate-change-induced stresses.
Natural and human induced environmental changes affect populations at different time scales. If they occur in a spatial heterogeneous way, they cause spatial variation in abundance. In this thesis I addressed three topics, all related to the question, how environmental changes influence population dynamics. In the first part, I analysed the effect of positive temporal autocorrelation in environmental noise on the extinction risk of a population, using a simple population model. The effect of autocorrelation depended on the magnitude of the effect of single catastrophic events of bad environmental conditions on a population. If a population was threatened by extinction only, when bad conditions occurred repeatedly, positive autocorrelation increased extinction risk. If a population could become extinct, even if bad conditions occurred only once, positive autocorrelation decreased extinction risk. These opposing effects could be explained by two features of an autocorrelated time series. On the one hand, positive autocorrelation increased the probability of series of bad environmental conditions, implying a negative effect on populations. On the other hand, aggregation of bad years also implied longer periods with relatively good conditions. Therefore, for a given time period, the overall probability of occurrence of at least one extremely bad year was reduced in autocorrelated noise. This can imply a positive effect on populations. The results could solve a contradiction in the literature, where opposing effects of autocorrelated noise were found in very similar population models. In the second part, I compared two approaches, which are commonly used for predicting effects of climate change on future abundance and distribution of species: a "space for time approach", where predictions are based on the geographic pattern of current abundance in relation to climate, and a "population modelling approach" which is based on correlations between demographic parameters and the inter-annual variation of climate. In this case study, I compared the two approaches for predicting the effect of a shift in mean precipitation on a population of the sociable weaver Philetairus socius, a common colonially living passerine bird of semiarid savannahs of southern Africa. In the space for time approach, I compared abundance and population structure of the sociable weaver in two areas with highly different mean annual precipitation. The analysis showed no difference between the two populations. This result, as well as the wide distribution range of the species, would lead to the prediction of no sensitive response of the species to a slight shift in mean precipitation. In contrast, the population modelling approach, based on a correlation between reproductive success and rainfall, predicted a sensitive response in most model types. The inconsistency of predictions was confirmed in a cross-validation between the two approaches. I concluded that the inconsistency was caused, because the two approaches reflect different time scales. On a short time scale, the population may respond sensitively to rainfall. However, on a long time scale, or in a regional comparison, the response may be compensated or buffered by a variety of mechanisms. These may include behavioural or life history adaptations, shifts in the interactions with other species, or differences in the physical environment. The study implies that understanding, how such mechanisms work, and at what time scale they would follow climate change, is a crucial precondition for predicting ecological consequences of climate change. In the third part of the thesis, I tested why colony sizes of the sociable weaver are highly variable. The high variation of colony sizes is surprising, as in studies on coloniality it is often assumed that an optimal colony size exists, in which individual bird fitness is maximized. Following this assumption, the pattern of bird dispersal should keep colony sizes near an optimum. However, I showed by analysing data on reproductive success and survival that for the sociable weaver fitness in relation to colony size did not follow an optimum curve. Instead, positive and negative effects of living in large colonies overlaid each other in a way that fitness was generally close to one, and density dependence was low. I showed in a population model, which included an evolutionary optimisation process of dispersal that this specific shape of the fitness function could lead to a dispersal strategy, where the variation of colony sizes was maintained.
Lake ecosystems across the globe have responded to climate warming of recent decades. However, correctly attributing observed changes to altered climatic conditions is complicated by multiple anthropogenic influences on lakes. This thesis contributes to a better understanding of climate impacts on freshwater phytoplankton, which forms the basis of the food chain and decisively influences water quality. The analyses were, for the most part, based on a long-term data set of physical, chemical and biological variables of a shallow, polymictic lake in north-eastern Germany (Müggelsee), which was subject to a simultaneous change in climate and trophic state during the past three decades. Data analysis included constructing a dynamic simulation model, implementing a genetic algorithm to parameterize models, and applying statistical techniques of classification tree and time-series analysis. Model results indicated that climatic factors and trophic state interactively determine the timing of the phytoplankton spring bloom (phenology) in shallow lakes. Under equally mild spring conditions, the phytoplankton spring bloom collapsed earlier under high than under low nutrient availability, due to a switch from a bottom-up driven to a top-down driven collapse. A novel approach to model phenology proved useful to assess the timings of population peaks in an artificially forced zooplankton-phytoplankton system. Mimicking climate warming by lengthening the growing period advanced algal blooms and consequently also peaks in zooplankton abundance. Investigating the reasons for the contrasting development of cyanobacteria during two recent summer heat wave events revealed that anomalously hot weather did not always, as often hypothesized, promote cyanobacteria in the nutrient-rich lake studied. The seasonal timing and duration of heat waves determined whether critical thresholds of thermal stratification, decisive for cyanobacterial bloom formation, were crossed. In addition, the temporal patterns of heat wave events influenced the summer abundance of some zooplankton species, which as predators may serve as a buffer by suppressing phytoplankton bloom formation. This thesis adds to the growing body of evidence that lake ecosystems have strongly responded to climatic changes of recent decades. It reaches beyond many previous studies of climate impacts on lakes by focusing on underlying mechanisms and explicitly considering multiple environmental changes. Key findings show that climate impacts are more severe in nutrient-rich than in nutrient-poor lakes. Hence, to develop lake management plans for the future, limnologists need to seek a comprehensive, mechanistic understanding of overlapping effects of the multi-faceted human footprint on aquatic ecosystems.
Climate impacts on transocean dispersal and habitat in gray whales from the Pleistocene to 2100
(2015)
Arctic animals face dramatic habitat alteration due to ongoing climate change. Understanding how such species have responded to past glacial cycles can help us forecast their response to today's changing climate. Gray whales are among those marine species likely to be strongly affected by Arctic climate change, but a thorough analysis of past climate impacts on this species has been complicated by lack of information about an extinct population in the Atlantic. While little is known about the history of Atlantic gray whales or their relationship to the extant Pacific population, the extirpation of the Atlantic population during historical times has been attributed to whaling. We used a combination of ancient and modern DNA, radiocarbon dating and predictive habitat modelling to better understand the distribution of gray whales during the Pleistocene and Holocene. Our results reveal that dispersal between the Pacific and Atlantic was climate dependent and occurred both during the Pleistocene prior to the last glacial period and the early Holocene immediately following the opening of the Bering Strait. Genetic diversity in the Atlantic declined over an extended interval that predates the period of intensive commercial whaling, indicating this decline may have been precipitated by Holocene climate or other ecological causes. These first genetic data for Atlantic gray whales, particularly when combined with predictive habitat models for the year 2100, suggest that two recent sightings of gray whales in the Atlantic may represent the beginning of the expansion of this species' habitat beyond its currently realized range.
The global climate crisis is significantly contributing to changing ecosystems, loss of biodiversity and is putting numerous species on the verge of extinction. In principle, many species are able to adapt to changing conditions or shift their habitats to more suitable regions. However, change is progressing faster than some species can adjust, or potential adaptation is blocked and disrupted by direct and indirect human action. Unsustainable anthropogenic land use in particular is one of the driving factors, besides global heating, for these ecologically critical developments. Precisely because land use is anthropogenic, it is also a factor that could be quickly and immediately corrected by human action.
In this thesis, I therefore assess the impact of three climate change scenarios of increasing intensity in combination with differently scheduled mowing regimes on the long-term development and dispersal success of insects in Northwest German grasslands. The large marsh grasshopper (LMG, Stethophyma grossum, Linné 1758) is used as a species of reference for the analyses. It inhabits wet meadows and marshes and has a limited, yet fairly good ability to disperse. Mowing and climate conditions affect the development and mortality of the LMG differently depending on its life stage.
The specifically developed simulation model HiLEG (High-resolution Large Environmental
Gradient) serves as a tool for investigating and projecting viability and dispersal success under different climate conditions and land use scenarios. It is a spatially explicit, stage- and cohort-based model that can be individually configured to represent the life cycle and characteristics of terrestrial insect species, as well as high-resolution environmental data and the occurrence of external disturbances. HiLEG is a freely available and adjustable software that can be used to support conservation planning in cultivated grasslands.
In the three case studies of this thesis, I explore various aspects related to the structure of simulation models per se, their importance in conservation planning in general, and insights regarding the LMG in particular. It became apparent that the detailed resolution of model processes and components is crucial to project the long-term effect of spatially and temporally confined events. Taking into account conservation measures at the regional level has further proven relevant, especially in light of the climate crisis. I found that the LMG is benefiting from global warming in principle, but continues to be constrained by harmful mowing regimes. Land use measures could, however, be adapted in such a way that they allow the expansion and establishment of the LMG without overly affecting agricultural yields.
Overall, simulation models like HiLEG can make an important contribution and add value
to conservation planning and policy-making. Properly used, simulation results shed light
on aspects that might be overlooked by subjective judgment and the experience of individual stakeholders. Even though it is in the nature of models that they are subject to limitations and only represent fragments of reality, this should not keep stakeholders from using them, as long as these limitations are clearly communicated. Similar to HiLEG, models could further be designed in such a way that not only the parameterization can be adjusted as required, but also the implementation itself can be improved and changed as desired. This openness and flexibility should become more widespread in the development of simulation models.
The adaptation of plants to future climatic conditions is crucial for their survival. Not surprisingly, phenotypic responses to climate change have already been observed in many plant populations. These responses may be due to evolutionary adaptive changes or phenotypic plasticity. Especially plant species with a wide geographic range are either expected to show genetic differentiation in response to differing climate conditions or to have a high phenotypic plasticity. We investigated phenotypic responses and plasticity as an estimate of the adaptive potential in the widespread species Silene vulgaris. In a greenhouse experiment, 25 European populations covering a geographic range from the Canary Islands to Sweden were exposed to three experimental precipitation and two temperature regimes mimicking a possible climate-change scenario for central Europe. We hypothesized that southern populations have a better performance under high temperature and drought conditions, as they are already adapted to a comparable environment. We found that our treatments significantly influenced the plants, but did not reveal a latitudinal difference in response to climate treatments for most plant traits. Only flower number showed a stronger plasticity in northern European populations (e.g. Swedish populations) where numbers decreased more drastically with increased temperature and decreased precipitation treatment. Synthesis. The significant treatment response in Silene vulgaris, independent of population origin - except for the number of flowers produced - suggests a high degree of universal phenotypic plasticity in this widely distributed species. This reflects the likely adaptation strategy of the species and forms the basis for a successful survival strategy during upcoming climatic changes. However, as flower number, a strongly fitness-related trait, decreased more strongly in northern populations under a climate-change scenario, there might be limits to adaptation even in this widespread, plastic species.